Israel to fight genocide claims made by South Africa at top UN court

A spokesperson for Israel has slammed the case as 'absurd blood libel'
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu holds a press conference in Tel Aviv
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
via REUTERS
Ayan Omar3 January 2024

Israel will defend itself at the International Court of justice (ICJ) against South Africa’s claims that it is committing "genocidal acts" in Gaza officials said. 

South Africa launched the case against Israel on Friday at the ICJ at The Hague, the UN's top court in the Netherlands.

The 84-page document labels Israel’s actions in Gaza as "genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group".

Israel has dismissed the case as unfair and biased.

On Tuesday, Israeli spokesperson, Eylon Levy, accused South Africa of "giving political and legal cover" to the Hamas attack on October 7, which killed 1,200 people according to Israel and triggered the three-month long war

He said: "The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel."

"We assure South Africa’s leaders, history will judge you, and it will judge you without mercy."

South Africa has been a long-time supporter of Palestinians and has compared the conflict to its own apartheid-era, which Israel strongly rejects. 

Clayson Monyela, a spokesperson for South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said on X that lawyers are preparing for the case to be heard on January 11 and 12. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed South Africa's claims of genocide, saying "No, South Africa, it is not we who have come to perpetrate genocide, it is Hamas."

"It would murder all of us if it could. In contrast, the IDF (Israeli army) is acting as morally as possible," he added.

He vowed to continue the war until Hamas is crushed and the remaining hostages still held by the militant group are released.

On Monday, Israel announced that it will withdraw thousands of its soldiers from Gaza to shift to more targeted operations. 

Heavy fighting continues in southern Gaza where Israeli forces recently bombarded the city of Khan Younis, killing more than 200 people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 9,100 children since the start of the war.

Hamas’s supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, thanked South Africa for launching the case. 

Haniyeh, who is currently living in exile, said in a televised address broadcast on Al-Jazeera: "We greet all those who support us, especially the state of South Africa. And we appreciate the political and legal importance of this complaint."

He stressed that there will be no more hostage exchange "until the aggression comes to a complete stop".

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in